025.431: The Dewey blog

EPC Meeting 129

The Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee (EPC)* met at OCLC May 7-9, 2008. EPC approved several adjustments to the proposed overhaul of the treatment of groups of people (including a separate number for intersex people based on feedback from users) plus the implementation plan for the changes. The current plan is to post draft versions of Table 1 and 305-306 on the Dewey web site in August 2008 (with links from the Dewey blog). We will request comments on the content and implementation plan by October 30, 2008—this will permit discussion of user comments at EPC Meeting 130 in November 2008. It is our intention to introduce the changes to the treatment of groups of people throughout the DDC by second quarter calendar year 2009 in WebDewey and Abridged WebDewey. We plan to make final PDFs of Table 1 and 305-306 available on the Dewey web site at the same time the changes are implemented in the web versions of the DDC. The changes introduced in the web versions of the DDC will also appear in the print version of DDC 23 (scheduled to be published in late calendar year 2010).

In addition to the changes to groups of people in Table 1, EPC approved two changes to T1—079 Competition, awards, financial support: clarification of the add instruction from Table 2, and the relocation of festivals from T1—079 to T1—074 Museums, collections, exhibits. Watch this space for more information on these changes. EPC also approved several changes in Table 2 (Geographic Areas, Historical Periods, Persons) for Belgium, South Africa, Sweden, and Clifton Forge, Va. (the last reflects a rare change within administrative units in the U.S.).  In Table 3 (Subdivisions for the Arts, for Individual Literatures, for Specific Literary Forms), EPC approved new provisions for autobiographical fiction, biographical fiction, and alternative histories.  In Table 6 (Languages), EPC approved updates to Indonesian languages and Galician, plus several miscellaneous updates. Similar changes were made to parallel notation in Table 5 (Ethnic and National Groups).

In the schedules, EPC approved updates in the following areas: 004-006 Computer science, 025.4 Subject analysis and control, 160 Logic, 320 Political science, 364.16 Offenses against property, 398.2 Folk literature, 400 Language, 510 Mathematics, 560-590 Life sciences, 610 Medicine and health, 700 The arts, 800 Literature, and 900 History, geography, and auxiliary disciplines. EPC also reviewed reports on work under way in 200 Religion, 340 Law, and 370 Education. The changes in 364.16, along with other updates to the treatment of criminal offenses, will be the focus of the June New and Changed Entries. We will discuss the proposed updates and open issues in several of the aforementioned schedules in the coming weeks in the Dewey blog—stay tuned.

EPC reviewed several research initiatives from the OCLC Office of Research and the Dewey editorial team. Diane Vizine-Goetz presented current work on a prototype classification web service and pilot terminology services. Dewey editorial team members presented progress reports on several current research projects: machine-assisted derivation of the abridged edition, mixed translation models, identification of the relationship of Relative Index terms to Dewey classes, and improvements to Dewey captions. The team also briefed EPC on our new editorial support system, recent changes to the representation of the DDC in MARC21 formats, and a proposed new approach to the display of relocations and discontinuations in DDC class records. Further, the team gave EPC a progress report on the development of DDC training materials being posted online. There was also a lively discussion on how we might facilitate development and sharing of “Dewey neighborhoods” by Dewey users (see the innovative presentation by the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library at the March 2008 Public Library Association (PLA) Conference).

EPC will hold a follow-up electronic meeting (Meeting 129A) during June 2008 to resolve some minor open issues from Meeting 129. The group will meet next in person at the Library of Congress in November 2008.

*Photo at top of EPC at OCLC on May 8, 2008—standing from left to right: Lyn McKinney (Billings [MT] Senior High School), Sandra Singh (Vancouver [BC] Public Library), David Farris (Library and Archives Canada), Welna van Eeden (University of South Africa), Andrea Kappler (Evansville Vanderburgh [IN] Public Library) and EPC Chair Caroline Kent (British Library). Seated from left to right: Arlene Taylor (University of Pittsburgh SIS, retired), Vice Chair Anne Robertson (Australian Committee on Cataloguing), and Deborah Rose-Lefmann (Northwestern University).

Dewey Crossword Puzzle #1—Answers

A blog entry posted last week gave clues for a crossword puzzle composed of DDC numbers (but minus decimal points).  Did anyone actually do the puzzle? Too hard? Too easy? Want more? Let us hear from you.

The clues are repeated below, with the intended DDC notation for each clue given in square brackets; the relationship between the clue and the notation is also given. Built numbers are explained further below.

ACROSS
1 Superconductivity [621.35; caption]
2 General classification schemes [025.43; caption: General classification systems]
3 Sami [494.55; Relative Index: Sami language; built number]
4 Initiation of business enterprises devoted to literature [806.81; built number]
5 Crossword puzzles (abridged) [793.73; Including . . . crossword puzzles . . .]

DOWN
1 People with physical disabilities in technology [604.87; built number]
2 Geography, history, chronology, persons in the Apocrypha [229.09; built number]
3 Dreams [154.63; caption]
4 Criminal law of  Venezuela [345.87; built number]
5 Mechanical wave theory [535.13; caption]

494.55 Sami is built from 494 Uralic languages plus 55 from T6—9455 Sami, following the instructions at 494. 

806.81 Initiation of business enterprises devoted to literature is built from 8 Literature (i.e., 800, minus its final placeholder zeros, which disappear when further notation is added) plus T1—0681 Organization and financial management (“including . . . initiation of business enterprises”).

604.87 People with physical disabilities in technology is built from 604.8 History and description with respect to kinds of persons, a displaced standard subdivision T1—08 (displaced from 608, as indicated by the note “Do not use for history and description of technology with respect to kinds of persons; class in 604.8”), plus 7 from T1—087 Persons with disabilities and illnesses (“Class here persons with physical disabilities”), following the instructions at 604.8.

229.09 Geography, history, chronology, persons in the Apocrypha is built from 229 Apocrypha, pseudepigrapha, intertestamental works plus 09 Geography, history, chronology, persons from the add table under 221-229 Specific parts of Bible, Apocrypha, pseudepigrapha, intertestamental works, as instructed at 229, where the instruction is given that subdivisions can be added for Apocrypha alone.    

345.87 Criminal law of Venezuela  is built from 345 Criminal law plus T2—87 Venezuela, following the instructions at 345.3–345.9 Specific jurisdictions and areas.

 

What would Freud think?, or, For the puzzle junkies among you

The night life of a Dewey editor has its moments. From time to time I have awakened to the realization that I had been dreaming a blog, or Weekly List (LCSH-to-DDC) mappings, or an expansion.  (In my first week or two here, I dreamed I had been asked to work on developing a standard subdivision for things! Joan’s comment, after a pause that perhaps masked concern that I might actually think that possible, was simply, “Massive dual provision.”  Duh.) A few days ago I awakened and realized I had been dreaming Dewey in the context of doing a crossword puzzle. After a few seconds’ amusement, I thought, “Why not?” So, draw yourself a five-by-five grid, and have fun!    Answers and explanations will be posted next week.

Unless indicated otherwise, numbers come from DDC 22. Decimal points are omitted from all numbers; all numbers are five digits. And just to keep things a little more interesting, one number is drawn from each of the main classes, except one (since 1 down and 1 across necessarily come from the same main class).

ACROSS
1 Superconductivity
2 General classification schemes
3 Sami
4 Initiation of business enterprises devoted to literature
5 Crossword puzzles (abridged)

DOWN
1 People with physical disabilities in technology
2 Geography, history, chronology, persons in the Apocrypha
3 Dreams
4 Criminal law of Venezuela
5 Mechanical wave theory

Going Meta

Ever try to learn a new language? Then chances are good it was hard to master its prepositions, because most of them have more than a single meaning. Further, their use often seems idiosyncratic—but in ways different from the idiosyncrasies of prepositions in your native language!

Such is the case with the Greek preposition, meta-, which retains the core of its various meanings when used as an English language prefix. Among its senses are:

• after / behind (for example, the title of Aristotle’s Metaphysica is taken from its traditional position in his writings after Physica);
•  change (as in metabolism, metamorphosis, metaphor); and
• more comprehensive / transcending (as in meta-analysis).

This latter sense gives us a version of “going meta” in which discussion / consideration is taken to a more abstract level. For example, metaethics addresses the meaning of the terms used in making moral judgments, the nature of moral judgments, and the basis for moral judgments. Works on metaethics are classed in 170.42 Metaethics (built with 17 Ethics plus notation T1–04 Special topics plus 2, as set forth in the schedule; the atypical notation T1–04 can be used only when specifically set forth in the schedule, as here).  In a similar way, metamathematics is concerned with the foundation of mathematics, especially with such elements as formulas, equations, and proofs. Works on metamathematics are classed in 510.1 Philosophy and theory of mathematics, where metamathematics resides in an including note (built with 51 Mathematics plus notation T1–01 Philosophy and theory). Works on metalanguage—language used to talk about or describe language—are classed at 410.1 Philosophy and theory of linguistics (built likewise with 41 Linguistics plus notation T1–01 Philosophy and theory).

The preceding examples might lead us to assume that “going meta” in the abstraction sense is all philosophical and perhaps not so very practical. But meta-analysis, by which the results of a set of smaller research studies are synthesized to yield big-picture results, proves otherwise. Works on meta-analysis applied to medical research are classed in 610.72 Research; statistical methods in medicine and health (built with 61 Medicine and health plus notation T1–072 Research; statistical methods). Works on meta-analysis applied to other disciplines would receive similar treatment within the classes for their respective disciplines.

The overall pattern is clear: Meta-topics that involve abstraction generally are built by adding a standard subdivision to the base number for the topic, often a discipline.

Metadata registries

The 10^th International Forum on Metadata Registries met in New York City, July 9-11, 2007. The conference was based on relationships among four phenomena applicable to metadata: interoperability, standards, registration, and terminology. In order for organizations to use data that have been shared with them, the data must first be described. The data become interoperable through those descriptions, which constitute the metadata. Interoperability is facilitated by the existence of standards the metadata conform to. For example, integrated library systems (ILS) typically use proprietary storage formats; their compatibility with and conversion to the MARC formats enable the sharing of bibliographic data worldwide. Data sharing is also facilitated by the development of registries—catalogs—that help others discover the existence of relevant data elsewhere, as well as by terminology control over the metadata.

Using the library and information science (LIS) world to exemplify interoperability and standards is somewhat misleading. In the world at large, data are commonly maintained in locally designed databases. Indeed, it is not uncommon for an organization to maintain conceptually the same data in multiple databases, using different (and perhaps incompatible) structures and different terminology. Standards designed to achieve interoperability usually are not imposed on the underlying databases, but only on how the databases are described. Contrast this with the sharing of bibliographic data between two institutions, even where only one uses MARC-encoded data:  The functionality supported by the two bibliographic databases would probably still be very similar, such that a mapping between the two database structures could probably be readily developed. (A crosswalk between Dublin Core and MARC is a salient example.)

The underlying difference between the bibliographic and non-bibliographic data contexts explains why non-bibliographic metadata are not classed with bibliographic metadata in 025.3 Bibliographic analysis and control. Moreover, the Forum on Metadata Registries considers databases from the “narrowly technical” perspective of 005.74 Data files and databases (see Manual at 025.04, 025.06 vs. 005.74). Interoperability is mentioned in a class-here note at 004.6 Interfacing and data communications, which, although not directly applicable to data interoperability, shows that interoperability should be classed with the technology that enables it. That’s where the metadata registry comes in, classed in 005.742 Data dictionaries and directories (where data interoperability is also classed). Metadata standards for non-bibliographic data are classed in 005.740218 (built with 005.74 Data files and databases plus T1—0218 Standards), while terminology (which in this context refers to all of terminology science) is classed in 401.4 Language and communication, the number for interdisciplinary works on terminology.

Oneida Language

A story about the efforts of the Oneida Indian Nation in upstate New York to recover its traditional language caught my attention yesterday on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. "The tribe paid the commercial language school Berlitz to develop a course in its traditional language. Now the Tribe pays its Members to take the class."  The special efforts are necessary because only a few older adults in the area speak Oneida as a native language.  The class uses the Berlitz® method, which involves hearing a new language and speaking it.

The Oneida language is an Iroquoian language, more specifically a Five Nations language, with a Table 6 Languages number of T6--975543 Oneida.  The general linguistics number for the Oneida language is 497.5543 Oneida (built with base number 497.5 plus 543 from T6--975543 Oneida according to the add instruction under 497.52-497.58 Specific Siouan, Iroquoian, Hokan, Chumash, Yuki languages and language families). 

The DDC number 497.5543834 Audio-lingual approach to the Oneida language for people whose native language is different is built by following the instruction under 497.52-497.58 Specific Siouan, Iroquoian, Hokan, Chumash, Yuki languages and language families, first to obtain the general linguistics number 497.5543 Oneida, then by adding T4--834 Audio-lingual approach to expression for persons whose native language is different from Table 4 Subdivisions of Individual Languages and Language Families.  Instructions under T4—834 make it possible to add T6—21 English to build 497.554383421 Audio-lingual approach to the Oneida language for people whose native language is English.

Spell Dewey

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is happening a couple of miles away from the Dewey Manor. For the first time, the finals of the contest will be broadcasted in prime time by American Broadcasting Company (ABC). Contests as a form of recreation are classed at 790.134 Participation in contests. Contests limited to a specific topic are classed with the topic, plus T1—079 Competitions, festivals, awards, financial support. Thus, spelling bees in general are classed with spelling at 418 Standard usage (Prescriptive linguistics). Even though many of the words used in the Scripps National Spelling Bee have origins in other languages, these words are now considered to be English. Therefore, the Scripps National Spelling Bee is classed with spelling contests of the English language at 428.1307973 United States English-language spelling competitions (base number 42 for English language + T4—813 Spelling (Orthography) and pronunciation + T1—079 Competitions, festivals, awards, financial support + T2—73 United States).

While 384.55443 Television programs is used for comprehensive works on television programs and 791.457 Television programs is used for the techniques of producing television programs, subject-oriented television programs are classed with the subject. Thus, tonight's broadcast of the Scripps National Spelling Bee is classed in 428.1307973. The decision by ABC about which programs to schedule is classed at 384.55442 Scheduling. As the 384.54, 384.55, 384.8 vs. 791.5 manual entry indicates, comprehensive works on ABC are classed in 384.5540973.

To Cosmo!

Yesterday at Dewey Manor we celebrated the retirement of Cosmo Tassone, a senior specialist and irreplaceable colleague in the Library of Congress’s Decimal Classification Division (DCD).  We wish him a wonderful retirement.  We’ll miss him sorely.

Before coming to DCD in 1974, Cosmo taught English and American literature and rhetoric for seven years (Georgetown University, University of Maryland, U.S. Naval Academy).  He also studied French cooking, though he never worked as a chef. In DCD he became the expert in classifying languages and literature, and also food and wines.  He was a strong and effective advocate of the change implemented in 2000 that allows standard literary period notation to be added for literature in English by authors not from the U.S., Canada, or Europe, and for literature in French, Spanish, and Portuguese by authors not from Europe.

Cosmo worked right up to the end, leaving the Dewey editors with one of his hard questions:  where to class American Sign Language literature.  419.7 American Sign Language is a linguistics number that cannot be used for literature (belles lettres).  The editors are now pondering where in Table 6 Languages to create a number for sign languages that can be used to build a proper literature number.  In the meantime, American Sign Language literature is in standing room at 890 Literatures of other specific languages and language families. 

Cosmo contributed his punning toast to the retirement celebration for Nobuko Ohashi and Ruth Freitag.  David Smith, former chief of DCD, contributed this poem for Cosmo’s celebration:

Cosmo Tassone

Chewed Dewey’s bone

For thirty-odd years.

But shed no tears,

For our boulevardier,

Downshifting a gear,

Having paid his dues,

Shuffles off to Syracuse.

Alphabet soup

One of my favorite English words, largely because it sounds like it was made up by Dr. Seuss but in fact has been around since at least 1450, is "abecedary." Its original referent is a document that lists the letters of an alphabet, but by analogy the term is also used to denote "the first rudiments of anything" (OED). An excellent word to drop nonchalantly into conversation (e.g., "Watching my first episode of Lost last night would have been so confusing had I not been able to consult ABC's online abecedary"), but one that has suffered centuries of neglect: googling it gives you only 33,200 hits, a paltry return when you consider that even "antidisestablishmentarianism" clocks in at 73,700. All this is likely to change, of course, now that the discovery (near Jerusalem) of the earliest known abecedary has hit the front pages. Experts are still debating whether the alphabet inscribed on this ancient stone is Phoenician or that of a transitional language between Phoenician and Hebrew. Consultation of the abecedary of library classification (i.e., the DDC's Relative Index) reveals that the place for interdisciplinary works on alphabets is in standing room at 411 Writing systems of standard forms of languages; comprehensive works on the Hebrew alphabet go in standing room at 492.411 (adding notation 11 Writing systems from Table 4 to base number 492.4 Hebrew); while works on the Phoenician language are classed in standing room at 492.6 Canaanite languages.

nuqjatlh?

Today's excellent number is 499.99 Artificial languages, sometime home to The Klingon dictionary and other essential tools for the well-equipped intergalactic hitchhiker. Qapla'!